Strategy and Entrepreneurship - Culture Clothing

Strategy means seeking to achieve a certain position by way of a series of decisions and actions over time. Culture clothing strives to be a global fashion leader by giving power to innovation and design to deliver complete customer satisfaction. This study material explains about strategy and entrepreneurship of Culture Clothing and uses analyses like SWOT, PESTEL, etc.

Managerial Diploma in HRM
STRATEGY AND ENTREPRENEURSHIP
Student Name : Laxman Ajendra
Student ID : 21/GD-BM/CH02/0012
Submission Date : 11/10/2021
Assignment word count : 2000
Lecturer’s name : Mr. Gihan Talgodapitiya
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TABLE OF CONTENTS
Introduction 3
1. The Organization 3
1.1 Vision 3
1.2 Mission 3
1.3 Values 3
1.4 Goals 4
1.5 Objectives 4
1.6 Strategies 4
2. Understanding the strategic position of Culture clothing 5
2.1 Differentiation 5
2.2 Cost leadership 5
2.3 SWOT and TOWS analysis of Culture clothing 6
2.4 PESTEL analysis of Culture clothing 7
2.5 Identifying and analyzing the competitors of Culture clothing 8
2.6 Perceptual mapping of Culture clothing and the competitors 9
3. Strategic tools and framework used to enhance the competitiveness of Culture clothing 10
3.1 Porter’s 5 forces 10
3.2 Ansoff Matrix 11
4. Structuring Culture clothing for successful strategy implementation 12
4.1 Product life cycle management strategies 13
4.2 4 types of market segmentation 15
Conclusion 16
References 17
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INTRODUCTION
"Strategy" means seeking to achieve a certain position by way of a series of decisions and
actions over time. Henry Mintzberg, in his book, The Rise and Fall of Strategic Planning
(1994), points out that people use "strategy" in several different ways.
 Strategy is a plan, a "how," a means of getting from here to there.
 Strategy is position; that is, it reflects decisions to offer particular products or services
in particular markets.
1. THE ORGANIZATION
Culture Clothing, The business owned by the author, Focuses
distinctly on Sri Lankan Fashion sense in the hope of
Elevating it to international standards and capturing the
world market in the process.
The organization currently focuses on custom-made t-shirts
and Floral shirts.
1.1 VISION STATEMENT
Culture clothing strives to be a global fashion leader by giving power to innovation and
design to deliver complete customer satisfaction. (Source: Authors work)
1.2 MISSION STATEMENT
To Innovate, Lead and enhance to deliver the best products and services to customers.
Make a difference through our brand image to drive and influence fashion trends, Whilst
cultivating a culture of mindfulness that stays true to the local origins of the brand and
remains mindful of the Market changes and the latest technologies.
1.3 VALUES
 Integrity: Staying true to the promises to the stakeholders.
 Client satisfaction: Always treat the client’s expectations and requirements as the
most important aspect of performance.
 Culture: Staying true to the cultural roots of the brand.
 Learning: Always be open to all learning opportunities.
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1.4 GOALS
 Achieve 25% of market share in two years.
 To develop a strong base of key customers in the appropriate market segments
before the end of 2021.
 Increase brand awareness through social media marketing and increase sales by 20%
by the end of the 3rd quarter.
1.5 OBJECTIVES
 Launch new line of T-shirts and shirts every 3 months and distribute via popular fast-
fashion outlets in urban areas.
 Analyze and identify the targeted audience, Design and manufacture products
appealing to that targeted audience.
 Create a dominant social media image that would boost sales.
1.6 STRATEGIES
 Construct deadlines to Influence and motivate the R&D and other suppliers’ teams to
come up with innovative designs. Pitch those products to top-selling fashion outlets
and build a network through them.
 Regularly engage with the 15-35 age group of the market via social media.
Understand the developments with popular trends and develop designs that go in
line.
 Contact Facebook and Instagram influencers, collaborate with them to promote the
products online at the peak hours of the internet.
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2. UNDERSTANDING THE STRATEGIC POSITION OF
CULTURE CLOTHING
Strategic positioning is concerned with how a business as a whole distinguishes itself in a
valuable way from its competitors and delivers value to specific customer segments.
(Wickham, 2001)
2.1 Differentiation
As an organization in the fashion industry, Culture clothing can
be differentiated from its competitors as a “customize your T-
shirt brand.” The organization allows its customers to come up
with their own unique designs for their respective T-shirts and
ensure that the printing is done using high-quality machinery.
When it comes to shirts, The main focus is to offer floral
embroidery button-up shirts. Which goes perfectly in line with
the island culture, Where there is a huge demand for such
products so there are a lot of competitors in the market. To
distinguish from the rest, Culture clothing requests their
supplier to supply trendy floral shirts that go well with Sri
Lanka's cultural themes.
2.2 Cost Leadership
To attain cost leadership, The Organization focus on two main
terrains as mentioned below
 Lower input costs – Resources used to produce our brand of T-shirts and shirts are
lower in price than the average.
 Economies of scale - Large quantities of t-shirts are produced to cater to different
market segments at a lower cost.
Floral shirts are mainly imported. Buying it at a wholesale price allows us to penetrate
markets and sell it at a reasonable price covering our cost.
2.3 SWOT AND TOWS ANALYSIS OF CULTURE CLOTHING
By analyzing the external environment and your internal environment one can draw a
strategy to how to make the most of the strengths, circumvent the weakness, capitalize on
the opportunities and manage your threats (Weihrich, 1982)
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SWOT
OPPORTUNITIES
Desire among the younger
population to constantly
reinvent themselves in terms
of fashion.
THREATS
Established brands may
start imitating.
Changes in regulation
may impact business.

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AND The quick change of
STRENGTHS
Top quality and Culture
corelated T-shirts and
shirts concept.
In-House Production (T-
shirts.)
Personalize designing
option (T-shirt.)
All island effective
delivery system.
Wide range of Shirts
and T-shirts.
STRENGTHS/OPPORTUNITIES
The younger gen would be very
much interested in the products
as it offers a chance for them to
try out different looks through
customization.
The growing demand for
effective E-Commerce practices
could be exploited by the solid
delivery system that the
company has managed to
create and maintain.
STRENGTHS/THREATS
Registering the
innovative designs
through the copy right
laws.
Increase production
capacity to achieve
economic of scale.
Introducing Unique
concept helps the
organization to differ
from its competitors.
WEAKNESSES
Too dependent on the
floral shirt supplier.
Lacking Social media
marketing.
Inability to diversify the
target market, as the
product mainly appeals
to the younger crowd.
Lack of appropriate
promotions.
WEAKNESSES/OPPORTUNITIES
Aggressively promote the
brand amongst the younger
generation through social
media.
Create a loyal customer base
as a pillar to try innovate,
produce and explore into a new
demographic market.
WEAKNESSES/THREATS
Create different social
media platforms and
actively observe the
changing fashion trends,
later adapt and deliver
products accordingly.
Increase the supplier
chain to offer variety
and make it hard for the
competitors to imitate.

2.4 PESTEL ANALYSIS OF CULTURE CLOTHING
A PESTEL analysis is a framework or tool used to analyze and monitor the macro-
environmental factors that may have a profound impact on an organization’s performance
(Bruin, 2016)
Political Factors:
 Import of non-essential goods was temporarily suspended this affected the business's
ability to import required floral shirts.
 Heavy tariffs were imposed on imported goods with subsequently made shirts way
too expensive to target customers.
Economical Factors:
 The recent dip in the value of LKR against USD has caused the cost of imports to rise
exponentially.
 Due to the rising rates of inflation, the public’s purchasing power has gone down
significantly.
Social Factors:
 The rising number of youths in the urban areas has increased the business's ability to
attract a bigger customer base.
 The rising levels of importance given to social media influences would be beneficial
for business.
Technological Factors:
 The powerful, yet affordable mobile phones in the market have made E-commerce
much easier.
 effective promotion opportunities, As a result of social media apps.
Environmental Factors:
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 Concerns about pollution have caused the business to switch to clothing material that
does not utilize any synthetic chemicals.
 The business will also have to make sure that the suppliers are adhering to all the
environmental protection guidelines.
Legal Factors:
 When producing customized designs, the business needs to be aware of any
problematic designs being printed.
 It is best if the company relies exclusively on original designs as it would minimize
the risk of copyright infringements.
2.5 IDENTIFYING AND ANALYSING THE COMPETITORS OF
CULTURE CLOTHING
Competition is the rivalry between companies selling similar products and services to
achieve revenue, profit, and market share growth (Carnrite, 2021)
Culture Clothing t-shirt portfolio can be divided into two main segments, Art/Graphic T-shirts;
which allow customers to customize their designs, Plain Liner Cut T-shirts; which are
available in both long and short sleeves. The business offers a relatively lower price on plain
linear cut T-shirts and charges considerably a higher rate on custom designer T-shirts.
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2.6 PERCEPTUAL MAPPING OF CULTURE CLOTHING AND
THE COMPETITORS
The most powerful competitor out of the lot is Culture by Ari, even though their pricing is
rather high they have built a solid reputation. Their strength in the market extends within
the confines of the market for floral and breathable shirts. Culture clothing offers a product
that is slightly lesser quality at a considerably lower price.
Bear Apparel is not a threat in terms of quality or pricing. They have been in the market for
a considerably longer period, Therefore, enjoy the first entrant’s advantage. Solid word of
mouth and smart promotion tactics could eventually position the business in an
advantageous position. The quality is still marginal compared to Culture Clothing.
T-shirt republic is not a threat to cultural clothing as they deal in low-priced and low-
quality products however, They do have their customer base who are very conscious about
pricing. And this customer base cannot be swayed easily.
Culture clothing aims to achieve a sustainable competitive advantage over its competitors
by providing high-quality products at lower prices, innovating different designs, And allowing
clients to personalize their T-shirts. The organization believes that the gained sustainable
advantage over its competitors will double the profit without reducing the value of their
products.
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3. STRATEGIC TOOLS AND FRAMEWORKS USED TO
ENHANCE THE COMPETITIVENESS OF CULTURE
CLOTHING
Essential for a competitive strategy are techniques for recognizing and accurately reading
market signals. Implications of structural analysis for buyer selection and purchasing
strategy are presented (Porter M. E., 1980)
3.1 PORTER’S 5 FORCES
The five forces are a framework for understanding the competitive forces at work in an
industry, and which drive the way economic value is divided among industry sectors (Porter
M. , 1979)
5 FORCES
THREAT OF NEW
ENTRANTS
HOW TO RESPOND
Form clusters to Measure
and analyze the capacity of
the threat and improve the
product portfolio
accordingly.
HOW TO MITIGATE
 Build brand loyalty.
 Cost advantages.
 Differentiate the
product.
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BARGAINING POWER OF
SUPPLIERS
Create alternative buying
options for the supplier
product and increase the
availability of immediate
purchase.
 Avoid over-
dependence on
suppliers.
 Enhance forward
integration in the
future.
BARGAINING POWER OF
CUSTOMERS
provide innovative designs
and quality products
constantly so that it will be
hard to get similar products
from elsewhere.
 Increase the product
variety
 providing exceptional
after-purchase
services.
COMPETITIVE RIVALRY
Utilize the capacity to
excess produce and launch
the products predominantly
through social media.
 create network
effects through
various fast-fashion
outlets.
 spread focus on
different market
segments.
THREAT OF SUBSTITUTES
Always relate the product to
the trending culture and
provide it with the best
quality.
 Promote the product
extensively among
the targeted
audience.
 Focus on markets
where the
substitutional
products are low.
3.2 ANSOFF MATRIX
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There are four basic growth alternatives open to a business. It can grow through increased
market penetration, through market development, through product development, or through
diversification (Ansoff, October 1957)
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MARKET PENETRATION – The organization should focus to get more orders from
existing customers and win new customers over from competitors by providing quality
T-shirts at lower price.
PRODUCT DEVELOPMENT – The Organization should develop a conventional
portfolio of T-shirts and shirts with new designs and features and promote them
strenuously to the existing market.
MARKET DEVELOPMENT – The business should explore into the age group of market
segment between 15-35 and promote the existing products.
DIVERSIFICATION – The organization should Introduce and market Eco friendly T-
shirts and shirts into an environmental conscious market segment.

4. STRUCTURING CULTURE CLOTHING FOR
SUCCESSFUL STRATEGY IMPLEMENTATION
Effective strategy implementation is a critical component of organizational success and a
potential source of competitive advantage (Alex Tawse, 2021)
4.1 PRODUCT LIFE CYCLE MANAGEMENT STRATEGY
The main benefits of Product Life cycle Management include shortening product
development times, knowing when to ramp up or reduce manufacturing efforts, and how to
focus marketing efforts (Segal, 2021)
PRODUCT DEVELOPMENT STAGE – It is found that the average duration of a culture clothing
product in a product life cycle is 3 months, with the assistance from the R&D team, The
organization aims to produce t-shirts and shirts every 3 months with the latest features such
as curvy cuts in the bottom and the arm of the T-shirts, Latest Trending contents printed in
the T-shirts, Ultimate long sleeve comfortable wear Etc.
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INTRODUCTION – At this stage, Culture Clothing aims to;
 Establish brand identity
 Connect with the right fashion outlet partners
 Rapid skimming and Rapid penetration strategy
To establish brand identity, Culture Clothing has to extend its viewer experience by
increasing followers on mainstream social media like Facebook and Instagram. Launching all
the new products through social media will amplify sales plus the brand awareness among a
larger audience Which ultimately will open opportunities for partnership with leading fashion
outlets.
Rapid Skimming strategy (High Price and High promotion) can be the ideal launching
approach to our premium T-shirts which have the customize designing option and Rapid
Penetration strategy (Low Price and Significant promotions) can be used on products such
as Plain Liner Cut T-shirts and floral shirts.
GROWTH – Culture clothing should primarily focus on shifting marketing messages from
product awareness to product preference. Again, social media will be the key to sending the
message “why choose our product?” Across the market. Collaborations with social media
influencers and subscribing to social media promotion credentials will increase the sales
more than what’s forecasted.
MATURITY – This would be one of the key stages for Culture Clothing. Here the focus should
be on market modification and Product modification.
Market modification – This includes entering new market segments, redefining target
markets, Winning competitors’ Customers, and Converting non-users.
Product modification - improving the product quality and adding new products features
like ‘increase choices more in colors and sizes.” Also, add support services like “Within
Colombo, free delivery and purchases which value more than 5000LKR receives delivery
free”
DECLINE – The key aspect to attain a bigger market share is in how Culture Clothing
approaches the decline stage of its products. Products can be given an extra pulse in the
name of a relaunch. The same product extension line can be redesigned, rebranded, and
relaunched as a "new product".
4.2 4 TYPES OF MARKET SEGMENTATION
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Market segmentation consists of viewing a heterogeneous market (one characterized by
divergent demand) as several smaller homogeneous markets in response to differing
product preferences among important market segments (Smith, 1956)
GEOGRAPHIC SEGMENTATION: - The organization’s primary focus will be on western and
southern parts of Sri Lanka as that particular segment in Sri Lanka has developed a peculiar
liking for T-shirts especially the Southern part of Sri Lanka which is now popularly known as
the beach vibe area. Any product that resonates with that culture would exceedingly do well.
PSYCHOGRAPHIC SEGMENTATION: - Culture clothing will choose to focus on customers
who appreciate quality and has a keen interest in culturally-based products. Culture
clothing’s premier T-shirts and shirts will target the Upper class and Upper middle class
while the lower-priced T-shirts and shirts will be primarily marketed around the lower middle
class and working class.
DEMOGRAPHIC SEGMENTATION: - Culture clothing specifically targets individuals in the
age group between 15-35 years old.
BEHAVIORAL SEGMENTATION: - A Customer’s Online Shopping habits, Purchase
occasion, Brand loyalty, and perception of popular and cultural trends. Culture clothing aims
to capture the online shopping customer base, the type of customers who has the tendency
to purchase frequently and doesn’t deviate between brands.
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Conclusion
Culture clothing, In the present context, is a perfectly timed business venture, Though the
business will still have to face the existing threats in the market and rise above them. To
determine the strategic position of the company, in this report, a SWOT analysis and a
PESTEL analysis were carried out to identify the opportunities and threats in the market and
the strengths and the weaknesses of the business. The Company’s goals and objectives are
described by deriving its strategies to various strategic tools and frameworks such as the
Porter's 5 forces tool, which was applied to identify the threats in the market, and
appropriate countermeasures were recommended. Then ANSOFF matrix was used to create
a comprehensive strategy for entering and surviving the market. Furthermore, Product life
cycle management strategy and 4 types of market segmentation were implemented to
structure a successful strategic implementation for the company. The competitors were
identified and their positions in the market were expressed via perceptual mapping. Culture
clothing’s sustainable advantage over its competitors was promulgated and it was found
that culture clothing mainly caters to the relatively high income and younger market in the
urban areas of the country. Hence, the key competitors were identified as Culture by Ari,
Bear Apparel, and T-shirt republic. Comparisons were made with these businesses and
appropriate navigational strategies were recommended.
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